The US Trade Representative has included a number of Russian resources in its 2024 review of counterfeit and piracy markets. These include the social network VKontakte, the classifieds site Avito, the torrent tracker Rutracker, the file-sharing service Rapidgator, and the scientific literature libraries LibGen and Sci-Hub. The list of "distributors of counterfeit goods and piracy" also includes the Russian markets Dubrovka and Sadovod, plus the Gorbushkin Dvor shopping center. All of them have previously been included in the review of counterfeit and piracy markets in various years, starting in 2006.
However, according to the American side, VKontakte and Avito have refused to remove pirated content or illegal goods at the request of copyright holders from the United States since 2022. VK declined to comment to journalists on this issue. Avito, in turn, stated that their platform "has a well-established process for working with any copyright holders, regardless of their country of origin." At the same time, illegal content is blocked without the right to republish it.
Russian lawyers note that the constant inclusion of any companies in the piracy list may damage their business reputation. In addition, if it is proven that VKontakte and Avito have long ignored reasonable requests from American copyright holders, then large compensations may be recovered from them through the courts.
Read materials on the topic:
Video hosting and the fight against piracy: what is the situation in Russia
Striking at pirates: Vladimir Putin signed a law blocking pirate "mirror" sites
